This week, until 20 December, you can purchase No Ordinary Man (book 1) from Kevin Mayhew Ltd at a 10 per cent discount, using the code ORDINARY110 when ordering the title from the company’s website. With the book normally retailing at £24.99, that’s a saving of £2.50. Just type the code into the relevant box at the online checkout between the dates given.
Here, meanwhile, is the fourth of the sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion.
THERE’S ONLY ONE WORD FOR IT
Reading
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it . . . The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. John 1:1-5, 9
The meditation of John the Apostle
There’s only one word for it,
one word that gets anywhere near the truth,
that sums up the wonder of it all,
and that’s ‘Jesus’.
Trust me, I know,
for I’ve spent a lifetime trying to find the right words.
Since I followed Jesus all those years ago,
since I sat with the apostles in that upper room,
since we went out teaching and preaching in the Master’s name,
I’ve been looking for ways in which to describe my experience,
and I’ve used words,
masses of them,
more than I can begin to count . . .
When I stood and preached to the multitudes,
when I nurtured believers in their new-found faith,
when I prayed for the sick,
when I led times of worship,
when I reminisced with friends,
when I witnessed to strangers,
words, words, words.
But they’ve never been sufficient,
never begun to express what I really want to say.
And now more than ever I find that’s true,
sitting here trying to record the good news
as revealed to me.
I’ve written so much,
page after page,
my own words and his,
woven together as best I can
into a tapestry of his life.
I’ve told of the beginnings and the ends,
of his signs,
of his teaching,
of his actions.
I’ve spoken of those lesser-known characters,
the ones Matthew, Mark and Luke missed out,
and I’ve given details of those private moments,
when it was just us and Jesus together
as the end drew near.
I’ve tried,
I’ve really tried to get it across,
to tell you what Jesus meant to me and to so many others.
But there’s so much more I could still write,
so much I’ve had to leave out.
I could go on to the end of time
and still not do justice to all I want to tell you.
That’s why I say there’s only one word,
one word that says it all,
because Jesus was the fulfilment,
the embodiment,
the personification of God’s word.
The Law and the Prophets spoke of him.
The wisdom of the teachers spoke of him.
The universe in all its glory speaks of him.
And if you want to listen,
if you want to hear,
if you want to understand what life is all about,
then take my word for it,
the only way is to know him for yourself,
the word made flesh!
Reading
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth . . . No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:14, 18
Prayer
Gracious God,
we thank you for the gift of words
through which we are able to express so much.
We thank you for the words of Scripture
that speak so powerfully of your love.
But most of all we thank you
for putting your words in action,
making them come alive in the person of Jesus.
Help us in our turn not simply to use words
but to act upon them,
not just to talk about faith
but to live it day by day.
Amen.